Bastille Day 2009

July 13
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This was a normal work day for me and Kevin. Many people chose to take the day off, so they could have a 4-day weekend, which meant it was really quiet at work.
In the evening, we went to our friend's apartment for dinner with some other people we know. The apartment is on the top floor of the building and has a great view over the sea. We had a fantastic meal on the terrace and then watched the fireworks that were put on by the city of Antibes.

After the fireworks, we walked into the old town of Antibes to a plaza called Place Safranier. They had a DJ and a band, and we danced to some goofy French songs as well as some that we knew. We randomly ran into two of our Kiwi friends there.
July 13th seems to have more happening than on the 14th. We're guessing it's because the 14th is a day off, so you can part on the 13th and recover on the 14th!

July 14th
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Since the night before was kind of a late night, we had a bit of a lie-in and didn't get up until after 9. We hung around the apartment for most of the day just chilling out. Then, around 7, we met up with our friend to go to the Jazz à Juan jazz festival.

We were there for a night called, "Revelations" which is where they have some less-than-well-known artists play. We saw 4 acts: two solo saxophonists, a trumpet player, and a cool trio that played some really trippy funk jazz.

The venue was fantastic! The stage was set up on the beach promenade so when you were in the seats, you were facing the water and overlooking the boats anchored all through the bay. We got there just before sunset and the weather was perfect...not too hot with a decent breeze blowing. It was really amazing to watch the sunset and see the boats and the water... There was also a group of waterskiers tooling around in the water just behind the stage. There were two boats, each pulling a group of 4 skiers. At first, they set off with French flags and circled the bay a couple of times. Then some guys on wakeboards went two at a time. Then they had a group of 7 people, 3 of whom were on the shoulders of the others! Wow. Later, after the sun had gone down, the groups of 4 came back and carried red and white flares, which was pretty cool in the dark.

There was a fireworks show scheduled to begin after the music had finished, around 10:30. But just after 10, we could see some of the fireworks that were going on in Cannes, which was on the other side of a hill across the bay from us. (Everyone we talked to said that Cannes has the best show...apparently with music and everything.) Then, about 10:15, more fireworks started at a different point along the bay. We're guessing it was for a town called Vallauris, but can't confirm.
Then around 10:35 was when our fireworks show started just near the music venue. So we walked to a place on the promenade so we could see them, because there were some trees blocking our view from our seats.

There were no more buses after the show, so we ended up walking all the way home, which took around 40 minutes or so. Not too bad at all since it wasn't gawd-awful hot.